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Everything Old is New Again

epSos.de / Flickr

As the old adage goes, one person's junk is another's treasure. You can turn your junk into a valuable commodity by "recycling" it in innovative and useful ways:

Share appliances with your neighbors. How often do you really use that steam carpet cleaner, shop vac, leaf or snow blower, circular saw or sewing machine? Chances are, many of your household appliances lie dormant until that time once or twice a year you pull them out for some special project. Why not start an appliance sharing program with some of your neighbors? You'll save money, stretch scarce storage space and promote good will.

Hold a yard sale. You'll find plenty of relics that need a good home (yours not being one of them). Invite neighbors to bring along their vintage items, make it a community event and get ready to barter the day away! Give proceeds to your favorite charity or buy tree saplings to plant in your yard.

Start a community reuse center. Community members in New Paltz, NY established a center where people could drop off used materials like lumber, office supplies, windows and more. Instead of hitting the landfill these materials find new life in someone else's home. Another reuse center in Durham, NC called The Scrap Exchange uses donations to promote creativity, environmental awareness, and reuse.

Donate to your local non-profit thrift shop. Someone, somewhere will always find use for what you no longer need or want. Many local governments have created partnerships with Goodwill, the Salvation Army, Purple Heart and other charities that encourage community residents to bag their donated goods and leave them for easy pick-up.